Mayor insists city hall firmly French

MONTREAL - The issue of language may be ?part of the DNA? of the former Parti Qu?b?cois MNA and opposition city councillor who publicly complained on Tuesday that Montreal?s city council was ?becoming more anglicized,? Montreal mayor G?rald Tremblay told The Gazette on Wednesday.

But Tremblay argued that Vision Montreal councillor Elsie Lefebvre was off base to suggest that the use of French was on the wane at city hall.

?It?s definitely not the case. I think 95 per cent of the issues that we (debate in council) are discussed in French,? he said. ?Even on the agglomeration council ... where we?re talking about (the mayors) of 15 (Montreal suburbs) and some can?t say a word in French ... we decided that we?re doing them in French and you should see the efforts made by the anglophones to speak French.

?It?s only normal that Elsie Lefebvre (would raise the issue), it?s in her DNA. She comes from the Parti Qu?b?cois ... but the way she said it isn?t right, because there are major efforts made at city council for people to speak French.?

Tremblay?s remarks follow Lefebvre?s decision to rise on a question of privilege during a meeting of city council on Tuesday to contend her rights as a city councillor were being belittled ?because this municipal council becomes more anglicized month after month, week after week.?

Lefebvre urged the council?s speaker to ensure council proceedings respected Montreal?s ?French character.?

Public question period in council hears from anglophone and francophones who pose their questions in either language. Council protocol calls for councillors to reply in either French or English while favouring whenever possible the use of French.

Lefebvre later told The Gazette that while she respected the right of citizens and councillors to use both official languages, she felt city council proceedings reflected ?the quiet anglicization of Montreal.? Tremblay said that ?personally, I don?t think it?s a major issue. But we have to remain very vigilant to encourage more people to speak French, which we do at city council.?

The mayor repeated that the first article of the city?s charter states that Montreal is a French city, and he balked when it was suggested that language issues, which fall into federal or provincial jurisdictions in Quebec, might be perceived as a distraction from other issues facing city hall.

?It?s a fundamental issue, not a distraction. It?s a fundamental issue for us, for the city, because we make major efforts to integrate (immigrants) that come to Montreal,? he said. ?Montreal is the second-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris. In Paris ... they talk about ?parking? and ?emails?. In Montreal we make a specific effort to talk about ?stationnement? and ?courriels?.

?I try to do my best to try and find the right words in French to express myself ... I think we have to encourage as many people as possible to share the French language, but respecting that we?re a city where people also speak English and Spanish ... we have 120 (ethnic) communities (in Montreal).?

Lefebvre?s sortie coincides with a reportedly unsuccessful complaint being filed with the provincial agency charged with overseeing the application of Quebec?s French language charter over the distribution by the city of bilingual fliers urging citizens to shop on Park Ave.

Earlier this month, French-language radio host Benoit Dutrizac criticized the quality of French spoken by two of Tremblay?s councillors ? executive committee chairperson Michael Applebaum and council majority leader Marvin Rotrand.

jmennie@montrealgazette.com

? Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Mayor+insists+city+hall+firmly+French/5895171/story.html

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